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This morning I woke up at 6:45 to the sound of my alarm. The kids and I had to go get our passports renewed for an end of summer trip we’re considering. Either way, I like to keep those passports up to date for the possibilities it offers.
On our way back from the county office I complained to my husband, who wakes up every morning before six, that since the kids have been off for summer break I’ve only slept in once. He was not sympathetic.
“How long have the kids been out?” He asks with a bit of sarcasm in his tone.
Yes, it has only been a week and a half. But that means a potential ten days of glorious sleeping in. Instead, I’ve woken up earlier than I did during the year. And I feel cheated.
These past two years the kids have been in school (read Life Goes On…), I’ve looked forward to that last day of school like the holy grail. Sleeping in the next day until noon, the kids know they’re on their own until mom makes an appearance sometime around lunch. Those first few days where you don’t have to wake up at any given time. You’re on no ones schedule. You don’t have to pack any particular lunch when your day consists of lazing by the creek, swinging on the hammock, and just generally living by your own rules.
And that is what makes summer an introverts best friend. I don’t have to report to anyone. I don’t have to live by a clock. I don’t have to please and pander and submit to rules that are made by a society outside my own home. Freedom.
However, I do work. And I have these two really active kids who love to see their friends and go swimming and play in the park for hours on end. So, chances are, I won’t bee sleeping in a whole lot this summer. But I revel in those days that I do sleep in. The sheer bliss of those few extra days that don’t require ferrying kids to school or packing lunches. The emptiness of my office space. It’s all part of my summer experience.